Two playoff-hopeful teams enduring similar September swoons square off Monday as the Pittsburgh Pirates visit the Texas Rangers for the opener of their three-game interleague series. Pittsburgh has dropped four straight, including all three of a crucial weekend road set against St. Louis. With the sweep, the Cardinals moved into first place in the National League Central, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Pirates.
Texas halted a three-game skid with a road triumph over the Los Angeles Angels but still finds itself 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Oakland Athletics in the American League West. The Rangers own a three-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays for the top AL wild card, while the Pirates and division-rival Cincinnati Reds are in a virtual tie for the NL wild card positions. Texas and Pittsburgh have begun the month with identical 2-5 records.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Gerrit Cole (6-7, 3.74 ERA) vs. Rangers RH Yu Darvish (12-7, 2.91)
Cole enters with a three-start winless streak despite allowing three earned runs or fewer in each outing. The rookie, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Sunday, settled for a no-decision at Milwaukee on Tuesday after yielding two runs and five hits over six innings. Cole has pitched well on the road, going 2-2 with a 2.78 ERA in five starts.
Darvish looks to halt a four-start winless drought that includes losses in each of his last two turns. The 27-year-old native of Japan was tagged for five runs on five hits and six walks in five innings at Oakland on Wednesday. Darvish never has faced the Pirates, but is 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA in five career outings against National League clubs.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Rangers have lost three straight series and four of their last five.
2. Pittsburgh, which is 0-6 all-time against the Rangers in Texas, is an NL-best 12-5 in interleague games this season.
3. The Pirates (81-61) need one victory to guarantee their first winning season since 1992, when they went 96-66 en route to their third straight NL East title.